Laptop build compatible with Windows 7 Pro

Hi all, first post

I'm thinking of getting this spec laptop shortly and plan to install Windows 7 Pro (64) on it

Can anyone see any compatibility issues with the components?

Appreciate any advice, cheers

gar

Buying a dual core i3 -H series CPU and a screen below 1080p - regardless of the Windows question it's almost certainly a bad way to spend your money.

Newer CPUs and chipsets like Kaby Lake aren't sully supported on Windows 7. While it will almost certainly work fine, there may be some features that don't, or it might be hard to get appropriate drivers.

Also note that MS will stop supporting Windows 7 from Jan 2020, meaning no more security updates from that point.

I agree with Oussebon, it would be a mistake to buy a new computer and run Windows 7 on it. That would be like buying a Ferrari and filling the tank with diesel...

The myths that Windows 10 snoops on you or that it's full of bugs are just that, myths. Windows 10 internally is a far better OS than Windows 7 and, as Oussebon says, it takes advantage of newer performance features on the modern hardware. The user interface is quite different to Windows 7 (or XP) but it's very customisable and intuitive. I prefer it now to the Windows 7 user interface.

What will you be using the computer for? If you do not have to run software that will only work on Windows I would suggest a Linux distro but get the best hardware you can afford as others have said.

Thanks for the quick replies Oussebon and ubuysa. I understand the limitation of W7 but I suppose it's horses for courses when it comes to OS preference. Really just need to know if it would fundamentally work on the above spec, so cheers for that.

Thanks for your input Stephen M, I am more than happy to install ubuntu 16 or similar, but I'm currently running 14.04 on my desktop AMD A10 and have had all sorts of issues getting it to use the full potential of the kit I have in the box. For example, the Corsair vengeance RAM is 2133mhz but ubuntu will only use 1333, and can only see 6.7GB out of 8GB. It's sort of left a bad taste in my mouth.

So can ask the same question with regards Ubuntu on the above spec - Any issues anyone can see?

Thanks guys

Cannot see any problems with that and it should be fine with Ubuntu, the latest 17.10 is even working fine on my Optimus VII and the GPU in that was always a problem with Linux, the only down side for me is that Ubuntu have gone back to Gnome.

My main change to your set up would be to ditch the Hybrid drive and have a small, 256GB fast m2 SSD and then a standard HDD for storage.

That's good hear Stephan M, I would much prefer to avoid MS if I don't have to sacrifice some performance, RAM etc.

Originally I had hoped to have the small SSD and a larger HDD, but I have a strict budget of 500 and can't seem to squeeze it in.

So are the hybrid drives not that good then?

If the hybrid is your only drive you will see a little benefit but I am not impressed with them. Basically they are an HDD with a SSD cache and you have no control how the SSD part is used and other than the SSD bit it is just a 5400rpm HDD. Another option would be to go with a standard HDD and add an m2 later on, PCS allow you to work on their machines without voiding the warranty.

If you are looking for other OS options, I find this site really good: https://distrowatch.com/

on my desktop AMD A10 and have had all sorts of issues getting it to use the full potential of the kit I have in the box. For example, the Corsair vengeance RAM is 2133mhz but ubuntu will only use 1333, and can only see 6.7GB out of 8GB.

Click to expand...

The frequency of the RAM is set in the BIOS. I don't think Linux is going "Right boys, I've used 1,333,000,000 cycles of the RAM this second - I'm gonna take everything out of the RAM for the rest of the second and then put it back in when the next second starts." or something like that.

More likely, it's just reporting the RAM's base frequency rather than its actual frequency.

As for the 6.7gb RAM, I'm assuming this is because 1.3GHz is given over to the video memory, which I believe would also need to be set in the BIOS.

Sounds like I'm going to have to have a little think about the drive situation, you make good points to consider. Cheers

Oussebon - I had a little play yesterday, and now the bios sees the RAM as 2133, but ubuntu still only reports it at 1333. I've been through hundreds of forums and threads to try and sort this, but time is my enemy, as always

You maybe right about the graphics, as a terminal command shows the system to have 8gb. It's a head scratcher, for sure

I'm getting a bit confused here.

In the original post with the specs attached, the processor was a H series 3ghz, now, in the saved quote it is a U series 2.4ghz

Is this normal? are the quotes dynamic? is the i3 H series not available any more?

The price quoted has also now gone up to over 500

Looking at the configurator only the H is available at the moment but I would phone PCS to be sure. Prices do change as many parts are sourced from outside the UK so difference in currency rates will effect things as well as suppliers changing their prices.

H- series have vanished again from the 15.6" Ultranote.

That said, if you were going to buy an i3 7100H, then you might as well buy an i5 -U series CPU intstead. The i3 -H series is dual core with HT, just like the U series i5, and the U series CPU should use less power.

Note too that there are laptops with Kaby Lake refresh out there that have more modern CPUs with more cores.

So timing of purchase is everything it would seem.

I had looked into the i5 U series, but from the bench tests I saw, the i3H outperformed the i5U on all areas except power usage.

This system is going to be mainly used from live streaming broadcasts and numerous tab swapping and research. So power consumption and mobility is not going to be a concern.

The i3 has multi threading but the i5 doesn't, so the i3H seems more appropriate for my usage?

The search goes on ...
Cheers for the feedback guys

gar said:

So timing of purchase is everything it would seem.

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Unfortunately yes, however, once you save a quote, it is valid for 5 days (I think it's 5 days) and the price will not change unless one or more of the components becomes unavailable - which is what it looks like has happened here

gar said:

I had looked into the i5 U series, but from the bench tests I saw, the i3H outperformed the i5U on all areas except power usage.

The i3 has multi threading but the i5 doesn't, so the i3H seems more appropriate for my usage?

Click to expand...

That's not quite right.

What benchmarks were you looking at? CPUboss? Another website like that? It's best to entirely ignore that kind of trash as it makes bogus comparisons based on junk numbers.

If you look at actual benchmarks such as those on Notebookcheck, you see:

https://tinyurl.com/y6vl2379

Virtually identical performance, with the i5 leading a smidge. This shouldn't be a surprise either, since they are both Kaby Lake, both have 3MB L3 cache, and almost identical frequencies if you include the i5 boosting slightly higher than the i3. (The i5 having turbo boost, the i3 not having it).

With regards to hyperthreading, an i5 7200U does have hyperthreading.

For Kaby Lake:

H Series:
i3 - 2 cores, 4 threads
i5 - 4 cores, 4 threads
i7 - 4 cores, 8 threads

U series:
i3 - 2 cores, 2 threads
i5 - 2 cores, 4 threads
i7 - 2 cores, 4 threads

i.e. https://ark.intel.com/compare/95443,97126

Thanks for the info Rakk


-Oussebon

Oussebon said:

That's not quite right.

It's best to entirely ignore that kind of trash as it makes bogus comparisons based on junk numbers.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, now why doesn't that surprise me

I bow to your superior knowledge and research on this one. Cheers for the detailed response. Let me go back and have a play with the configuration again.

Well I finally bit the bullet, and the budget

Went with the following



Ubuntu 16.04 went out no problem, but as for windows 7 Pro, well that a different story. I have 8 drivers to track down, including the ethernet controller, Urgghh